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Expert’s note:
The present figure reflects the enduring influence of northeastern Indian Pala-period bronze imagery on Tibetan sculpture of the 13th and 14th centuries. Following the Chidar (or Second Transmission of Buddhism to Tibet), Tibetan sculptors developed a visual vocabulary distinguished by elegant proportions, refined ornament, and richly articulated surfaces.
Particularly characteristic here are the cold-painted face and blue-painted hair, features that heighten the image’s sacred presence while continuing established Indo-Tibetan consecratory practices. The finely punched stylized foliate blossoms decorating the dhoti further recall the sophisticated textile patterns and ornamental precision associated with Pala metalwork. Rather than representing a direct copy of an Indian prototype, however, the sculpture demonstrates the selective assimilation of northeastern Indian conventions into a distinctly Tibetan idiom, combining Pala-inspired refinement with the more robust modeling and devotional intensity characteristic of Tibetan bronze sculpture during this period.
For two Pala bronzes with punched decoration and cold painted features, see a figure of Maitreya, dated circa 12th century, 13.8 cm high, at Bonhams Hong Kong, 1 December 2023, lot 1854, mid-estimate HKD 800,000 or approx. EUR 95,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing); and figure of Vajrapani, attributed to Northeastern India or Tibet and dated 12th-13th century, 19.7 cm high, at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 302, sold for USD 18,900 or approx. EUR 18,500 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing).
Finely cast standing in samabhanga on a lotus base with beaded rims, both hands in front of his breast in vitarka mudra and holding slender stems of lotus flowers that rise to the shoulders where one supports a sword, the other a manuscript. The slender figure variously adorned with beaded jewelry and wearing a diaphanous dhoti punched with stylized foliate blossoms, and a celestial scarf draped around the shoulders and arms, its ends cascading gracefully to the ankles. The cold-painted face with a benign expression, heavy-lidded eyes, a slender nose, and gently pursed lips forming a gentle smile, flanked by ears with pendulous lobes, and crowned by a three-point tiara that surrounds the tall blue chignon.
Provenance: The private collection of Karl Steppé, Belgium. Karl Steppé is a Belgian entrepreneur, art dealer, and collector with a longstanding engagement with Asian art and culture. Formerly the proprietor of two antique galleries in Brussels and a further gallery in Paris, he was active for many years in the European art trade. Together with his wife, Master Chef Nooror Somany Steppé, he founded the Blue Elephant restaurant group. The couple met in Belgium during the 1970s, while Nooror was completing her studies and Karl was active as an art dealer. In 1980, they opened the first Blue Elephant restaurant in Brussels. Their enterprise combined Karl’s entrepreneurial vision and international experience with Nooror’s profound knowledge of Thai cuisine and culinary traditions. Under her direction, Blue Elephant expanded to include restaurants, culinary schools, and Blue Spice, the group’s manufacturing branch producing Thai curry pastes, sauces, spices, and prepared ingredients for international distribution.
Condition: Very good condition with expected ancient wear and casting irregularities, rubbing and flaking to cold-gilt and pigments, faint remnants of gilding to the body, a small loss to the hem of the shawl, light warping. The bronze with a fine, naturally grown, lustrous patina.
Weight: 380 g
Dimensions: Height 14.9 cm
Manjushri (‘Beautiful Glory’) is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom. He is the patron deity of the Newar Buddhists and is credited with the creation of the Kathmandu Valley. According to the local narrative, the Valley was originally a great lake, and Manjushri used his sword of wisdom to cut a cleft in the mountains that contained the lake. With the lake thus drained, he created the Valley, making it habitable for all sentient beings. Manjushri is envisioned in at least fourteen iconographic forms per religious textual sources.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Koller, Zurich, 23 September 2006, lot 106
Price: CHF 18,000 or approx. EUR 29,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Standing Avalokiteshvara, Tibet, circa 13th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of casting with similar dhoti, jewelry, and notched medallion at the knee. Note the size (18.3 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 17 March 2014, lot 12
Price: USD 16,250 or approx. EUR 20,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A copper alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara, Tibet, circa 14th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of casting with similar dhoti, jewelry, and notched medallion at the knee. Note the similar size (16.7 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 13 September 2016, lot 201
Price: USD 23,750 or approx. EUR 28,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt bronze figure of standing Tara, Nepal, 14th century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling and manner of casting with similar base. Note the similar size (13.3 cm) and the gilt.
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